My wife and I may need to sub-let our Wootton ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Wootton conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Wootton conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have 62 years remaining on my lease in Wootton. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Wootton.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Wootton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Wootton. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wootton ?

The majority of houses in Wootton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Wootton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Wootton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Wootton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wootton conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Wootton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Wootton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Can you inform me if there are any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the maintenance fees? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? For many Wootton leaseholds the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Wootton ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wootton